Posts mit dem Label Shadowrun 4 werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Posts mit dem Label Shadowrun 4 werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen

Dienstag, 9. Juni 2009

Adapting SR4 Skills to a Fantasy setting

If we go fantasy utilizing the Shadowrun 4 system, most of what we have to do is cut of what we don't like, but from time to time there are a few details that must be adjusted. Especially Skill Groups are an interesting tweak as they are flavor related. Additionally we have to consider the difference in the typical set of weaponary - Shadowrun books are full of guns, but here we only have old-fashioned stuff. So some skills become skillgroups as their importance goes up.

Price Tags
A Skill Group costs 10 Build Points, an Active Skill costs 4 Build Points, an Knowledge Skill costs 2 Build Points. There are also Skill Specialisations (2 BP for an active skill, 1 BP for a knowledge skill). A Skill Group consists of 3 or 4 active skills.

Skill Groups
Dropped: Bioteck, Cracking, Electronics, Firearms, Mechanics, Tasking

New
Archery (DEX) - Bows (DEX), Crossbows (DEX), Slings (DEX), Thrown Weapons (DEX)*
Melee (DEX) - Blades (DEX), Clubs (DEX), Polearms (DEX)
Martial Arts (DEX) - Monk Weapons (DEX), Unarmed (DEX), Thrown Weapons (DEX)*
Research (INT) - Investigation (INT), Rumours (INT), Streetwise (INT)
Travel (REA) - Boats (REA), Carts (REA), Ride (REA)


Unchanged
Athletics (STR/DEX) - Acrobatics (DEX), Climb (STR), Running (STR), Swimming (STR)
Influence (CHA) - Convincing (CHA), Customs (CHA), Leadership (CHA), Negotiation (CHA)
Nature (INT/WILL) - Navigation (INT), Survival (WILL), Tracking(INT)
Secrecy (INT/DEX)
- Disguise (INT), Sleight of Hands (DEX), Infiltration (DEX), Observation (INT)
Sorcery (MAG) - Anit-Magic (MAG), Ritual-Magic (MAG), Spell-Magic (MAG)
Summoning (MAG) -
Bannishing (MAG), Binding (MAG), Summoning (MAG)

Skills
The changes to skills themselfs are few. Remember that there are skills that do not have a corresponding skill group. This is sometimes unfortunate, but making groups with 2 skills only does not make sense unless you change the price tags for skill groups depending on the number of skills they have.

Dropped
Kybernetics, Electronic Warfare, Hacking, Matrix Combat, Computer, Data Search, Hardware, Software, Longarms, Pistols, SMG, Vehicle Mechanics, Industrial mechanics, Naval Mechanics, Decompiling, Compiling, Registering

New
Alchemy (LOG) - Well they are part of the fantasy worlds, so we need this here.
Body-Mechanics (LOG) - Replaces Kybernetics (Log)

Siege Weapons (LOG) - Well Catapults may become part of any fantasy game.

Unchanged
Combat: Evasion (REA)
Magical: Asensing (INT)
Medical: First Aid (LOG), Medicine (LOG)
Practical: Ride Exotic Mount (DEX)
Social: Teaching [CHA]
Sports: Diving [CON]
Technic Related: Alchemy (LOG), Craft (INT), Engineering (LOG), Lockpicking (DEX)


Knowledge

These times are practical times, so most practical knowlege goes to Intuition. Only the more scientific knowledge is LOG based such as Astrology, Astronomy, Engineering, Magic:
Languages[INT], Knowledge[INT], Studied Knowledge [LOG]

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*Thrown Weapons - appears in two separate skill groups. You technically can learn both groups at once and the higher value counts for Thrown Weapons. It is assumed though that a usual character has only one of these two skill groups and therefor this works to support different archetypes.

Sonntag, 7. Juni 2009

Bits of Rules: Bennies & Personality Traits

Bennies
Since a while I'm watching LordStrange / John Wick's Youtube Channel. Especially his comments on instant reward in one of his videos gave me a kick of "I want that in my games". So this is what I'm gonna try for Shadowrun.
Whenever you do something that helps/advances/enhances the game you play in above a minimum amount, your Game Master will award you with a Bennie. Bennies can be spend to improve die-rolls a little bit.
Shadowun has Karma-Pools/Edge-Pools to do stuff better, it's strong but it's also very expensive, so you only resort to it in dire situations. Bennies are like small brothers - they are weaker, but more common and even return more often then you like/need (well at least if you're a good player).
A Bennie can be spend to increase the value of a single rolled die by one (well if it shows a number below 6). You may spend as many Bennies on a single roll as you like and you can freely distribute them your rolled dice.
If you used a point of edge to get bonus dice to reroll on a 6, you can increase a value to the point that it shows a 6, but you cannot spend points to ensure successes on bonus dice that you bought with bennies.
Personality Traits
I like it if a characters personality has an mechanical impact. Not in a way that it completely controls your character, but in a way that it at least influences the way you're doing stuff.
What I'm not so fond of is if people mistake a collection of neurotic patterns for a character personality just to play a manic psychopath.
The first time I stumbled upon stuff like that was when playing Vampires:The Masquerade, but I must say that the system used there has a lot of drawbacks including "Have strong virtues so that you can go against your humanity rating without taking penalties".
Virtues have to stand for them selfs. You may have strong ones or weak ones. Later I saw a charactersheet for Vampires: The Requiem - they had one Virtue and one Vice for a character and it was centered around the seven sins and corresponding virtues.
It makes sense and suits a game that is intended to play in a pseudo-european world. So it's a good start.
So here are my bits of rules:
Every Character picks two freeform traits that define his personality. They shall be drawn from a set of virtues or vice, but not be neurotic or describing a mad person (that's what flaws are for).
In situations where one of these personality traits comes into play you gain an extra die to your dicepool if you act in favor of that trait, but if you want to act against it, you loose a die from your dicepool. If both personality traits affect a single action you may have +2, 0 or -2 dice to your pool size depending on the situation at hands.
Additional personality traits cannot be purchased by any means because these personality traits are not about hunting for bonuses.